Junior Leslie Ledesma’s palms were dripping with sweat, and her heart was racing. She tried to keep her composure, and she kept smiling like she practiced. Ledesma was finally going to find out if all her hard work paid off as the judge started to say “and the winner is.”
“Last year I felt pretty confident about myself. I knew I was lacking on some things, but I was really confident,” Ledesma said. “In my first pageant I ended up getting first runner up and I’m really proud of that.”
Ledesma has been competing in pageants since Oct. 2015 when the manager of 1010 Collins approached her about being in pageants after her quinceanera.
“I ended up going to the first practice and really liked it, so I decided to join,” Ledesma said.
Ledesma has not only learned life lessons from the pageant, but also has gained friendships.
“My favorite part about the pageant is getting to know the girls and experiencing all these new things with them,” Ledesma said. “I’ve gotten really close with some of them and even from last year, I still hangout with some of them outside the pageant.”
The first pageant Ledesma competed in was the Miss Irving Latina and Miss Fort Worth Latina 2016. She received second runner up in June. This year she is competing in the Miss Fort Worth Latina and Miss Dallas Latina 2017. The contestants practice for months in preparation for the pageant.
“Honestly it’s a really good experience throughout it all not just the pageant weekend,” Ledesma said. “Everything we go through, we do fashion shows, photoshoots and community service.”
The second pageant Ledesma will be competing in and hoping to take the crown will be in July, 2017.
While pageants have often been criticized for being “a beauty contest,” Ledesma disagrees with those who think that way.
“In my opinion, I don’t think people should just state things they don’t know about,” Ledesma said. “They should really go and see themselves that it’s not just about what’s on the outside, but what’s on the inside. We are not just based off our looks, but also our intelligence and what we have to offer the community.”
